Work Begins on Nuclear Security Center in China

Construction got underway on Tuesday for a nuclear-security training facility in Beijing that is being cooperatively financed by China and the United States, the Xinhua News Agency reported.

The Center of Excellence on Nuclear Security, located in a technology park in the outskirts of the Chinese capital, is planned to contain environmental laboratory space, test sites and areas for nuclear-security practitioners to practice their response techniques. The center is slated to be finished in 2015, China Atomic Energy Authority Vice Chairman Wang Yiren said.

The facility is intended to enhance China's domestic nuclear-security capabilities and to serve as a regional hub for the dissemination of best practices in the field, Wang said.

Beijing and Washington agreed in January 2011 to work together in establishing the center. The United States has agreed to supply the equipment and trainers for the facility while China has agreed to pay for most of its operating costs, according to previous reports.

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This article was published in Global Security Newswire,
which is produced independently by National Journal Group under contract with the Nuclear Threat Initiative.
NTI is a nonprofit, nonpartisan group working to reduce global threats from nuclear, biological, and chemical weapons.